


Punch All the Bullies

by YourLocalPriestess



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Gen, Have a piece of Earthborn backstory, and fighting, anywayyyyyy, ha, tw for alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 21:37:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11239749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourLocalPriestess/pseuds/YourLocalPriestess
Summary: When Cal and Adonis are instructed to wait in a bar for their target to arrive, Cal just can't keep out of it when some asshole harasses an asari at the bar.





	Punch All the Bullies

**Author's Note:**

> SO. I hc that the galactic legal age for drinking is 16, which Cal is here. So, now you know. There will be alcohol. Also, Cal's name is like that for a reason :)

Cal walked into the bar with Adonis at her heels. They stowed their false IDs and made their way to the table at the far left of the open space. Shadowed, private, perfect for whatever the fuck business Finch needed them to get done.

“Alright, now you wait there until I give you the go ahead, and when you see your man, take him out,” Finch said to them both through their comms.

“Right.” Adonis nodded.

“Remind me again what he did?” Cal whispered, trying and failing to keep the ire from her voice.

Finch sighed. “What he did isn’t important. He fucked us over. That’s all you need to know.”

“Loud and clear,” Adonis said, cutting off her retort, before muting Finch to their conversation. “You really need to watch yourself, Red.”

She rolled her eyes. “Being well informed is hardly poor practice.”

He glared at her, sighed, then glanced at the bar. “Alright, shots it is.”

“What?”

“Anything to get you off your high horse.”

Cal Smith was not a drinker. Quite the opposite. She’d seen drinking fuck up too many good things and good lives, not even counting her own vicious experiences. That said, Adonis was a hard man to say no after two straight minutes of puppy eyes and begging, and four shots in and she was feeling seven kinds of warm, fuzzy, and powerful.

“Should we really be drinking on a job?”

Adonis grinned and took another shot. “Sure. Boss didn’t say how long it would take, and we _want_ to blend in. Moping in the shady corner won’t accomplish that.”

She harrumphed once and took her next shot. _If you can’t beat ‘em…_

Two hours later, she and Adonis were to the point where the alcohol buzz had dimmed to a warm glow. They sat drinking beers, feet propped on the table. Cal hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long –

“Well, look what he have here.”

Cal froze, her beer halfway to her lips. Words like that never meant anything good.

“What’s a pretty young thing like you doing out here on this rock?”

She turned to see a large man with two friends flanking him standing uncomfortably close to a young asari, the only alien in the shithole bar. The asari was staring astutely at wall behind the bar. The man grabbed her shoulder and spun her toward him.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, bitch.”

The young alien jerked her shoulder out of his grasp. “And I’m not interested in conversation.”

He slapped her. Her head hit the table with a resounding thud, her glass clattering to the floor and spilling over them both. Cal shot up in her seat.

Cal hated bullies. Even without alcohol to field her inhibition, she hated them an inordinate amount. And this asshole was about to learn just how deep her hatred ran.

Adonis had only just begun to say, “Cal, Cal, _Cal_ ,” when she punched the jerk in the face. He staggered backward into the arms on his friends, blinking rapidly and gripping his jaw. Cal took the opportunity to fill the space between him and the girl. When his eyes finally settled on her, his surprise settled into a full blown glare as he drew himself up to his full height, towering over them both.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Adonis said, suddenly at her side and crossing his arms as he glared at the man and his friends. “Just back off and we won’t have any more problems.”

The man scoffed. “You’re shitting me.”

“We’re not.” Cal raised one eyebrow, unimpressed in every sense of the word.

The man was silent for a whole three seconds before he laughed. “Fuck that.”

His first punch missed her by centimeters, but the second one landed her solidly in the gut. The wind flew out of her. She fought to stay upright. Adonis was well into the fray, maneuvering between the man’s two friends with kicks and fists that moved so quickly she felt dizzy. She straightened as the man drew back to punch her again. She moved to dodge it, but wasn’t fast enough. His fist was inches from her face when a blue hand encased in rippling energy caught it. The man glared at the alien. Cal took advantage of the distraction to punch him first in the gut and then in the face. He collapsed on the floor, clutching his nose. Adonis straightened as well, standing over the other two with bloodied knuckles.

“Get the fuck out of here.” Cal spat the blood that pooled in her mouth on his face. “Don’t come back.”

The man and his friends straightened at a leisurely pace, probably attempting to leave with some measure of dignity, but the entire bar watched them make their walk of shame to the door.

Cal finally focused on the asari. “Are you okay? He hit your head pretty hard.”

She grinned. “Not as hard as you hit him.” She rubbed at the small gash at the forefront of one of her crests. “Thanks, by the way. I appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Adonis wiped his hands with her handkerchief. “Just, try and stay out of trouble.”

“No promises,” the asari laughed.

“What the fuck just happened?” Finch all but shouted, only in their ears. “You’ve been compromised. Get out of there.”

“We have to go,” Adonis sighed, returning to their table and gathering their things.

“Shit.”

“What, you guys can’t even stay of a drink?” she asked.

“Apparently not,” Cal grumbled, as she began following Adonis out the door. “Seriously. Take care of yourself. You’re not in a good neighborhood.”

“I will. Hey, wait!” she called out, freezing Cal in the doorway. “What’s your name?”

“Cal.”

She grinned. “Peebee. Thanks, Cal. And your friend too.”

“No problem.” She nodded once and then she was out the door, trailing at Adonis’ heels.

“Flirt much?” he asked, half teasing her.

“Shut up, _cowboy_.” She air quoted, pantomiming him, “’Just try and stay out of trouble miss, these here are dangerous parts.’”

“Shut the fuck up.” He shoved her shoulder, but they were both grinning as they made their way back to the base.

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiii. I was inspired to write this little piece from a fic group I'm in on FB. Cal's time with the Reds was tumultuous at best, and I couldn't resist crossing worlds a little here ;)
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading! You entirely too good for this word. Any kudos/comments/what-have-yous are appreciated <3


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